Fluid control valve



May 28, 1957 w. A. RAY Re. 24,321

' FLUID CONTROL VALVE Original Filed July 12, 1944 2 Sheet s-Sheet 1Hummm Jnnentor:

WLM/1M A. RAY,

sheets-sheet '2 Original Filed July 12, 1944 68 67 ggg: 6 7? Snvenlot: yWML/AM A. RAY,

United States Patent O FLUID CONTROL VALVE William A. Ray, NorthHollywood, Calif., assignor to General Controls Co., a corporation ofCalfomia originalNo. 2,712,429, dated' July s, 1955, serial No. v

223,496, April 28, 1951, which is a continuation of application SerialNo. 544,511, July 12, 1944, which is a division of application SerialNo. 407,932, August 22, 1941. Application for reissue NovemberlS, 1956,

Serial No. 622,725.

17 Claims. (Cl. 251-130) This invention relates to valves particularlydesigned for the control of gaseous fuels, and operated by anelectromagnet'.

'Ihis application is a continuation of application Serial Number544,511, filed July 12, 1944 (now abandoned), and which is a division ofapplication Serial Number 407,932, filed August 22, 1941, now Patent No.2,358,999, granted September 26, 1944.

It is one of the objects of this invention to provide anelectromagnetically operated valve in which the danger of sticking isgreately minimized. f

Often, a solenoid-type of electromagnet is used in which a plunger isguided in a sleeve and'engages a stationary stop upon energization ofthe electromagnet.k If the gaseous fuel is permitted to enter thesleeve, it may deposit a gummy substance in the sleeve and on the stop.Accordingly, failure of the plunger to drop out would occur.

It is another object of this invention to ensure against Re. 24,321Reissued May 28, 1957 7--7 of Fig. 5, with the housing 55 broken away toshow, in particular, the time-delay mechanism; and

Figure 8 is a diagrammatic view of the apparatus shown in the otherfigures, along with an appropriate electrical control circuit therefor.

In the drawing, the numeral 11 indicates a valve casing having an inlet12 and an outlet 13, the inner portion of the casing adjacent the outletbeing built up to provide an annular valve seat 14. Cooperable with thisseat is a dished closure member 15 secured to one end of a valve stem16, the other end portion of the stem extending freely through a centralopening in an otherwise apertured cupshaped'washer 17 located in theinlet of the casing and held from outward movement by a wire ring 18snapped into a groove formed in the inlet Wall, and engageable with theperiphery of the washer. A spring 19, surrounding the valve stem 16 andcompressed between the washer 17 and a nut 20 threaded on anintermediate portion of' rthe stem, serves to urge the closure member 14toward its seat and the washer 17 against its retaining snap ring. Theperiphery of the closure member 14 is guided 'ice Y by three spacedportions 21 extending from the inner wall of the casing.

the deposit of such gummy material by sealing oit the i 'I magneticcircuit elements vfrom the gas passageways.

Another object is to provide, in a solenoid operated valve, means formanually operating the valve upon failure of supply of electrical energyand for maintaining the valve in operated condition, the manualoperating means being so arranged that it is rendered ineffective whenthe supply of electrical energy is restored.

Another object is the provision of means for delaying the actuation ofcondition-controlling means, such as switching means, for apredetermined interval after the operation of movable means, such as avalve operator, the delaying means being effective subsequently to delaythe deactuation of the condition-controlling means for afpi'e- Coveringan opening through the top wall of casing 11 is a flexible diaphragm 22,of material such as leather, or thin sheet metal, the marginal portionof which is clamped between the casing and the bottom flange 23 of asubhousing, generally indicated at 24, attached to the casing. Pivotedon a pin 25, mounted in spaced brackets 26 attached to horizontalplatforms 27 extending from the upper inner side walls of the casing(Fig. 5), 'is a U- shaped arm 28, the rounded lower extremities of whichstraddle the portion of valve stem 16 between the closure member 15 andnut 20. The upper cross-portion of arm 28 abuts the underside ofdiaphragm 22, and above it is the medial portion of a channelled lever29, the arm 28 and lever 29 being secured together and to the diaphragmat these portions by screws. VIt is thus apparent that the arm and thelever can be rocked as a unit on pin 25 to operate the closure member15, the pin 25 being located as close as is practicable to the plane ofthe diaphragm so as to minimize ilexure of the same. The generalvalve-operating arrangement thus far described isvdisclosed in mycopending application, Serial Number 378,756, filed February 13, 1941,now Patent No. 2,354,704, issued August l, 1944; and is claimed in adivision of the aforesaid application, Serial Number 536,699, led May22, 1944, now Patent No. 2,442,877,

determined interval after the return of the movable means to unoperatedposition.

Another object is the provision, in a time-delay system of the characterdescribed, of'means for effecting a twoway snap-action of thecondition-controlling means.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be found 'm thedescription, the drawing, and the claim; and, for full understanding ofthe invention, reference is to be had to the following detaileddescription and accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of a solenoid-operated valveembodying features of the invention;

Figures 2 and 3 are fragmentaryv views, similar to that of Fig. 1,showing the parts in positions assumed in operation;

Figure 4 is a plan of the valve shown in Fig. 1;

Figlre 5 is a vertical section, taken along the irregular line 5-5 ofFig. 1;

-Figure 6 is a fragmentary horizontal section, taken along the line 6-6of Fig. 5;

Eigure7 is a side elevation, taken in the plane ,of line granted June1S, 1948.

The sub-housing 24 is of generally rectangular form, and comprises sidewalls 30 turned up from ange portion 23 (Fig. 5), end walls 31, and anoverlapping top wall 32, the Walls being secured together as by weldingor solder, to form, together with diaphragm 22, a sealed compartment.

Threaded in an openingl in an inclined portion of the top wall 32 is asolenoid device, generally indicated at 33, comprising a sleeve 34, theupper end of which is closedby a plug 35,- and a plunger 36 freelyreciprocable in the sleeve vand. limited in upward movement by around-ended stop pin 37, secured in plug 35, which cooperates with aconcentric conical recess 38 in the upper end of the plunger to centerthat end in the sleeve when the plunger is attracted by the energizationof coil 39. The plunger is generally square' in cross-section, itscorners being rounded so that the plunger is a loose iit in the sleeve.The corners-40 of the lower end of the plunger are slightly larger indiameter (but still considerably smaller than the internal diameter ofthe sleeve) so that, if a lateral force is applied to the lower endofthe plunger when it is in its attracted position, only these cornerscan engage the sleeve. The general solenoid construction shown herein isdisclosed and claimed in U. S. Patents No. 2,096,763 (and reissuethereof No. 21,881) to Ray et al., and No. 2,098,195 to Ray, and willnot be further described. n

The lower end portion of the plunger 36 is axially slotted to receiveone end of a link 45 which is pivoted on a pin 46 secured in theplunger, the other .end of the link being pivoted on a pin 47 extendingbetween the side walls of the bent-up leftahand end portion of thechannelled lever 29. Between the link, and a side wall of the lever isan end portion of an arm 48 which is secured at its thickened other endto a rod 49 sealingly journalled in openings in the side walls 30 ofthesub-housing, fora purpose hereinafter to be described. The arm4th-being rotatable on a center different from that of the unit composedof lever 29 and arm 28, `is slotted to receive pin 47.

By its linked connection with lever 29, when the solenoid plunger isattracted by energizat-ion of coil v39, arm 28 is rocked to move closuremember 15 to its open position against the bias of spring 1-9. It willbe noted that the counter force of spring 19 is applied laterally to thelower end of the plunger (the general .axis of movement of link 45 beingat an angle to the axis of the plunger) so that, while its upper end iscentered by pin 37, its lower end portion 40 is held tightly against theright-handl side of the sleeve, as is shown in Fig. 2. The components ofmagnetic and mechanical forces applied to the plunger in its attractedposition serve to prevent vibration and hum when the solenoid isenergized by alternating current. Due to the inclined position of thesolenoid, gravity acting on the plunger also contributes to this effect,and may, in modified constructions, be the controlling factor. Thesefeatures are claimed in the aforementioned parent application, SerialNumber 407,932, now Patent No. 2,358,999, granted September 26, 1944.

Extending through an opening in a horizontal portion of the top wall 32of the sub-housing 24 is a rod 50 which is provided, at its lower end,with a conical head 51, spaced above which, and attached to the rod, isa collar 52 having an upper facing 53 (Fig. 3) of leather, or the like.The upper portion of the rod 50 is guided in an opening in the topportion of a U-shaped bracket Y 54, mounted on the Wall 32, and extendsfreely through an aligned opening in the top wall of a cylindricalprotective housing 55, which is frictionally mounted on the turned-upperipheral portion of flange 23. Rod 50 is urged upwardly by a spring56, secured at one end to the rod and at the other to the wall 32, sothat, inthe normal position of the rod as shown in Fig. l, the collar52, by its facing 53, seals the adjacent opening around the rod. It willbe noted that, in the event of rupture of the diaphragm, leakage offluid would be conned to the space defined by the interior of thesubi-housing and the solenoid sleeve.

Furthermore, the diaphragm 22 serves to isolate the plunger 36, thesleeve 34, and the exposed parts of stop pin 37 from the llow of gascontrolled by the valve. Accordingly, there is no danger of the valvesticking in open position on account of the accumulation of gummydeposits from the gas llow. In addition, the sealed sub-housing 24ensures against the entry of any other form of foreign matteithat mayinterfere with free movement of plunger 36. v

The head 51 of rod 50 is cooperable with the hooked end 57 of thebent-up right-hand end portion of lever 29. In the event of failure ofelectrical supply for the solenoid 33, the valve may be operated bymanipulation of rod 50. When this rod is moved downward by finger-pressure on a button S8, the lever 29 is rocked, the hook 57 riding onthe tapered surface of cone 51 until it drops into the recess 59 betweenthe cone and the collar52, lthe parts assuming the positions shown inFig. 3. Pressure on button 58 may now be released, the vclosure member15 being held in substantially full-open. position by engagement of hook57 with head 51.

It will be noted that, in the manual opening of the valve, the solenoidplunger 36 is moved only partially toward its attracted position, sothat, upon resumption of electrical supply, it is moved still fartherupward, thereby rocking lever 29 so that the engagement of hook 57 withthe head 51 is released and the rod 50 returns to its normal raisedposition under the intlucnce of spring 56. n

As is seen in Fig. 6, the guide hole for rod 50 in the top portion ofbracket 54 provides a tongue 60 which extends into a shallow slot 61formed in the upper side wall `ofrod 50. This slot is wideriat its upperend ithan aty its lower, so that limited rotation of the rod is'permitted when it is in its :depressed position.v Spring 56 is soarranged that it exerts a rotative force on rod '50, tending to retainthe vertical, or right-hand, side of the slot 61 in engagement with thetongue 60. If it is desired to'reclose the valve (after it has beenmanually opened) before the resumption of electrical supply, the button58 is rotated to its Release position, shown in Fig. 4, against thetorsional bias of spring 56,thereby bringing a flattened or cut-awaysurface 62 of the otherwise conical head 51 into register with hook 57,so that the rod lcan 'then move upward to permit the valve to closeunder the force of its bias.

If the solenoid is connected to the electrical supply service in serieswith an automatic controlling device, such as a thermostat, or otherlimit-control, it is desir- 'able that the valve, upon resumption ofelectrical service after the valve has been manually opened, shouldimmediately close if the limit-control is calling for such operation.However, under such condition of the limitcontrol, its switching meanswould generally be open, so that no energy would normally be availableat the solenoid for raising its plunger to release the manual holdingmeans'. To overcome this defect, l have provided switching means,actuated by the manual valve- Voperating means, whereby the plunger willbe kreleased upon resumption `of electrical service, regardless of thecondition of the limit control. These means are more clearly shown inFig. 5, and comprise a pair of resilient contact blades 65 and 66 whichare mounted on an insulating base 67 by means of posts 68 and 69,respectively, the base being attached to the ear portions 7 of thebracket 54. In the downward movement of rod 50, a pin 71 (preferably ofinsulating material) earried thereby, engages blade 65 and exes it intocontact with blade 66, as shown in Fig. 3. Post 68 is connected by awire to a terminal plate 72 and post 69 to another plate 73, to whichplate one lead of the solenoid is also connected.. The other solenoidlead is yconnected to a third terminal plate 74. The correspondingterminal posts, shown on housing 55 in Fig. 7, have been assigned primednumerals. Referring tothe corresponding diagramv of Fig. 8, it will beseen that the conta-ct blades `are connected in shunt with the terminalsof a thermostat 75, and that the thermostat is connected in series withthe power supply terminal 76 and one lead of the solenoid, the othersolenoid lead going directlyA to the otherpower supply terminal 77. Theblades 65 and 66, when in Contact, thus completen circuit from the powersupply terminals to the solenoid independent of the thermostat, so that,upon resumption of electrical service, the solenoid plunger is attractedtoits fully raised position, re-

leasing the rod 50, the resultant upward movement of v plunger isinitially attracted, it then falls when the blades 65-66 separate.

`Referring now more particularly to Fig. 7 and the correspondingdiagrammatic showing of Fig. 8, rod 49 "is'conn'ected by' arni'48`to thelever y29 so that it'moves in accordance therewith, as was describedhereinabove. Yieldably connected to an end of rod 49, exterior to thesub-housing 24, by its volute portion 80, is a resilient arm 81 whichinsulatingly carries on its free end a contact element 82. Cooperablewith this contact element is another similar element 83 mounted on abracket 84 which is insulatingly attached to the flange 23. Insulatedterminals 85 and 86 are provided for the electrical connection of thecontact elements in a circuit, terminal 86 being connected to element 82by a llexible wire 87. Also mounted by one of its ends on llange 23 is aU-shaped bimetallic member 88, the free end of which carries a head 89normally positioned immediately above a solid portion of arm 81, andadjacent an opening 90 formed therein, this opening being of such sizeand shape as freely to receive the head 89 and the portion of member 88to which it is attached.

Wrapped around a portion of the bimetallic member is a resistance coil91 which, when energized by passage of current therethrough, iseffective to heat the bimetallic member so that its free end Warps in aleft-hand direction.

When the solenoid is energized, in the opening movement of the valve,the rod 49 is rotated in a clockwise direction (as viewed in Fig. 7) sothat arm 81 is moved into engagement with the head 89 of the bimetallicmember, additional rotation of the rod effecting flexure of the arm and,in particular, of its volute portion 80. As is shown in Fig. 8, theresistance coil 91 is connected in parallel with the solenoid coil sothat heating of the bimetallic member is now initiated. After apredetermined interval, warping of the birnetallic member moves its head89 into register with opening 90, with the result that arm 81 issuddenly projected upward, bringing contact elements 82 and 83 intoengagement, as is shown in broken lines in Fig. 7. In this position ofarm 81, the upper edge of the head 89 is latched under the portion ofarm 81 adjacent the lefthand edge of opening 90 due to the arcuate pathof the end of this arm. Continued energization of the resistance coileffects slight additional movement of the bimetallic member in aleft-hand direction until the portion thereof above head 89 is inengagement with the left-hand edge of the opening, in which position itremains during Vthe energization of the resistance coil and solenoid.

Should energization now be discontinued, the valve closes and the arm 81tends to assume its normal position. However, due to the engagement ofhead 89 with the underside of arm 81, the same is restrained frommovement until the bimetallic member has cooled sufciently again tobring its head into register with the opening 90, whereupon arm 81 movessuddenly downward, opening contacts 82-*83. The time-delay feature may,for example, be advantageously employed in connection with thecontrol ofthe circulating fan of a hot-air heating system. Referring to Fig. 8,and assuming that the closure member 15 is arranged to control llow offuel to a gas-consuming hot-air furnace, fan 92 will be operated uponengagement of contacts 82--83 a predetermined interval after the openingof the valve, and its operation will be continued for an interval afterthe reclosing of the valve, so that the air will be circulated while,and only While, it is hot. Terminals 93 of the fan circuit arepreferably connected directly to the service lines, the valve andcontrol terminals 76-7'7 usually being connected to a low-voltage supplyto minimize fire hazard in the thermostat circuit. In Fig. 8, a damper94 is shown connected for operation by rod 49. Such a damper may, forexample, conveniently be employed to control the supply of auxiliary airto the furnace, and is opened concurrently with the opening of the fuelvalve. Y

The time delay apparatus shown in Figs. 7 and 8 is made the subject of adivisional application Serial No.

,377,461, led August l0, 1953, and entitled Fluid Contgol Valve.

I claim as my invention: K l

1. In a lluid control valve: a casing having a passage therethrough;means movable in said casing for controlling lluid ow through saidpassage; llexible, normally impermeablemeans forming a wall of saidcasing exposed to said fluid; a support mounted on said casing; a sleevemounted on the support and open at one end; an axially movable plungerslidable in said sleeve and extending through the open end; stop meansat the other end of the sleeve; means connecting the plunger and theiluid llow controlling means for movement of said controlling means inaccordance with the movement of said plunger; [and] an electromagnetcoil surrounding .the sleeve for moving the plunger and said llowcontrolling means [.1 said connecting means comprising a lever connectedto said impermeable means with a first portion of said lever beingconnected to said controlling means and with a second portion of saidlever being connected to said plunger, and means pivoting said lever onsaid casing about a pivoting axis which is in close proximity to saidimpermeable means such that the spacing between the impermeable meansand said pivoting axis is relatively small in comparison to either thedistance between said pivoting axis and said plunger or the distancebe'- tween said pivoting axis and said controlling means.

2. In a iluid control valve: a casing having a passage therethrough;flexible, normally impermeable means forming a wall of said casingexposed to said luid; means movable in the casing and attached to thewall for controlling fluid llow through said passage; a support mountedon said casing; a sleeve mounted on the support and open at one end; anaxially movable plunger slidable in said sleeve and extending throughthe open end; means connected to the plunger and said flow controllingmeans and joined to the outer surface of the flexible means for movingsaid How-controlling means in accordance with the movement of saidplunger; stop means for the plunger at the other end of said sleeve[means] [and] an electromagnet coil surrounding the sleeve for causingthe plunger to move inwardly of the sleeve against the stop means andfor moving said llow controlling means [.1, said aforementioned meansconnected to the plunger comprising a lever attached to said impermeablemeans and pivoted 0n said casing about a pivoting axis which is incloseproximity to said impermeable means such that the distance betweensaid impermeable means and said pivoting axis is substantially less thaneither the distance between said impermeable means and said plunger orthe distance between said diaphragm and said flow controlling means. I

3. In a lluid control valve: a casing having a passage therethrough; allexible, normally impermeable means forming a wall of said casing andexposed to said lluid, said wall forming a seal for the casing; ahousing covering said wall externally of the casing; a sleeve supportedon a wall of the housing and having an end open-ing into the housing;stop means closing the other end of the sleeve; an electromagnet coilsurrounding the sleeve and externally of the housing; a plunger slidablein said sleeve and extending through the open end into the housing; saidhousing being fluid-tight; a movable mechanism having elements attachedto opposite sides of the llexible means for controlling the llow oflluid through the passage; and means connecting the plunger to theelement that is external of the valve passage for moving said mechanismin accordance with the movement of said plunger.

4. In a fluid control valve: a casing having a passage therethrough;means in said casing for controlling iluid llow through said passage; asolenoid device mounted on the casing and comprising an attractableplunger; a lever pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on the casingand connected at one of its ends to said plunger; means operativelyconnecting said lever with said flow-controlling means; and a manuallyreciprocable member biased in one direction and movable in the otherdirection, and posi- 7 tioned so as to engage the other end vof thelever .and rock 1t, only while .said Vsolenoid is unenergized, tooperate the flow-controlling means to open position `and simultaneouslymove the plunger to a partially attracted position; the other end of thelever forming a detent cooperable, when the lever is in said manuallyrocked position, with a notch in said reciprocable member so as tomaintain the lever in said rocked position with the member in engagementtherewith; movement of the plunger to its fully .attracted position,upon energization of the solenoid, so rocking the lever as to permitwithdrawal of said detent from said notch so that the reciprocablemember is retracted under the force of said bias.

5. In a fluid controlvalve: a valve body having means forming a valveseat, said body having an opening; a closure member in the body; aflexible normally impermeable wall sealing said opening, and exposed onone side to the interior of the body; a housing covering said wall, saidhousing having an aperture; the other side of said Wall being exposed tothe interior of the housing; .a sleeve supported on the housing, andopening only at one end into the housing; said housing openingexteriorly only at said aperture; an electromagnet coil surroundingthesleeve and externally of the housing; a plunger slidable in said sleeveand extending through the open end into the housing; mechanism havingelements attached on opposite sides of the ilexible wall for operatingsaid closure member, said plunger being connected to one of the elementsthat is external of the valve body for operating the mechanism; movableoperating means extending through said housing aperture for moving saidone element independent-ly of the electromagnet coil; resilient meansurging said operating Ameans outwardly of the housing; and stop meanscarried by said operating means and limiting outward movement of saidoperating means, said stop mean-s sealingly engaging about said housingaperture in the limiting position of said operating means.

6. In a fluid control valve: a valve body having means forming a valveseat, said body having an opening; a closure 'member in'the body; aflexible normally impermeable wall sealing said opening, and exposed onone side to the interior of the body; a housing covering said wall, saidhousing having an aperture; the other side of said Wall being exposed tothe interior of the housing; a sleeve supported on the housing, andopening only at one end into the housing; said housing openingexteriorly only at said aperture; an electromagnet coil surrounding thesleeve and externally of the housing; a plunger slidable in said sleeveand extending through the open end into the housing; mechanism havingelements attached on opposite sides of the flexible wall Vfor operatingsaid closure member, said plunger being connected to one of the elementsthat is external of the valve body for operating the mechanism; .amanually movable plunger extending through said housing aperture formoving said one element independently of the electromagnet coil; meansforming a shoulder on said manually movable plunger limiting outwardmovement of -said plunger; resilient means urging said manually movableplunger outwardly of the housing and toward inoperative position; and asealing element carried by sa-id manually movable plunger and engagingabout said aperture to seal said housing upon movement of said manuallymovable plunger to inoperative position.

7. In a fluid control valve: a valve body having a passage therethrough;a lever pivoted on the body and having means for closing said passageupon angular movement of said lever to one position; resilient meansbiasing said lever to 4said one position; electromagnetic means formoving said lever away from said one position and to another position inwhich said passage is open; a manually reciprocable member biased in onedirection and movable in the other direction; said lever having aportion in the path of movement of said reciprocable member, saidportion being moved out of the path of movement of saidreciprocablemember when said lever is in said other position; movementof said reciprocable member in said other direction when said portion isin the path of movement thereof moving said lever to an intermediateposition in which said passage is open; and means forming a detachablelatch between said reciprocable member and said lever portion-to preventretraction of said lever and said reciprocabl-e member to theirrespective biased positions, said latch being moved to disengagingposition upon movement of said lever to said other position by saidelectromagnetic means.

8. `In a Huid control valve: a valve body having a pas-sagetherethrough; a lever pivoted on the body and having means for closingsaid passage upon angular movement of said lever to one position;resilient means biasing said lever to said one position; electromagneticmeans for moving said lever away from said one position and to anotherposition in which said passage is open; a manually reciprocable plunger;means guiding said plunger for longitudinal movement; resilient meansurging said plunger in one longitudinal direction and to one angularposition; said plunger being movable in the other longitudinal directionas well as away from said one angular position; said lever having aportion in the path of movement of said reciprocable member when saidreciprocable member is in said one angular position, said portion beingmoved out of the path of movement of said reciprocable member when saidlever is in said other posi-tion; movement of said reciprocable memberin said other direction when said portion is in the path of movementthereof moving said lever to an intermediate position in which saidpassage is open; and means forming a detachable latch between saidreciprocable member and said lever portion to prevent retraction of saidlever to said one position and to prevent longitudinal retraction ofsaid reciprocable member in said one longitudinal direction, said latchbeing moved to disengaged position upon movement of said lever to saidother position by said electromagnetic means, said latch also beingmoved to disengaged position upon angular movement of said plunger awayfrom said one angular position.

9. In a fluid control valve: a valve body having a passage therethrough;a lever pivoted on the body and having means for closing said passageupon angular movement of said lever to one position; resilient meansbiasing said lever to said one position; electromagnetic lmeans formoving said lever away from said one position and to another position inwhich said passage is open; a manually reciprocable element biased inone direction and movable in the other direction; said lever having anelement in the path of movement of said reciprocable element, said leverelement being moved out of the path of movement of said reciprocableelement when said lever is in said other position; one of said elementsproviding a surface inclined to the direction of movement of said oneelement, as Well as a reentrant shoulder adjoining said surface; theother element forming a projection; said projection being engageablewith said surface to move said lever from said one position uponmovement of said reciprocable element to said other position when saidlever element is in the path of movement of said reciprocable element,and to a position intermediate said one and said other position of saidlever, and in which said passage is open; said shoulder and saidprojection forming a latch to prevent retraction of said lever and saidreciprocable element to their respective biased positions, saidprojection and said shoulder being moved to disengaging position uponmovement of said lever to said other position by said electromagneticmeans.

10. In a fluid control valve: a valve body having a passagetherethrough; a lever pivoted on the body and having means for closingsaid passage upon angular movement of said lever to one position;resilient means biasing said lever to said one position; electromagneticmeans for moving said lever away from said one position and to anotherposition in which said passage is open; a manually reciprocable plunger;means guiding said plunger for longitudinal movement; resilient meansurging said plunger in one longitudinal direction and to one angularposition; said plunger being movable in the other longitudinal directionas Well as away from said one angular position; said lever and saidplunger having elements engageable with each other, the element of thelever being in the path of movement of said plunger element when saidreciprocable plunger is in said one angular position, said lever elementbeing moved out of the path of movement of said plunger element whensaid lever is in said other position; one of said elements providing asurface inclined to the direction of movement of said one element, aswell as a reentrant shoulder adjoining said surface; the other elementforming a projection; said projection being engageable with said surfaceto move said lever from said one position upon movement of saidreciprocable plunger in said other direction when said lever element isin the path of movement of said plunger element, and to a positionintermediate said one and said other position of said lever, and inwhich said passage is open; said shoulder and said projection forming alatch to prevent retraction of said lever and said reciprocable elementto their respective biased positions when said plunger is in said oneangular position; said projection and said shoulder being moved todisengaging position upon movement of said lever to said other positionby said electromagnetic means, said projection and said shoulder alsobeing moved to disengaging position upon angular movement of saidplunger away from said one angular position.

11. A control valve asset forth in claim I in which manually operablemeans is mounted on said casing and engageable with said lever forapplying a turning force to said lever to pivot the same about saidpivoting axis and move said flow controlling means to an open positionwith respect to said passage.

12. A control valve as set forth in claim 2 in which manually operablemeans is mounted on said casing and engageable with said lever forapplying a force to said lever to pivot the same about said pivotingaxis and move said flow controlling means to an open position withrespect to said passage.

13. A control valve as set forth in claim 1 in which said plunger hasits axis extending in a non-parallel direction with respect to the pathof movement of said fluid controlling means, and means pivotallyconnecting said lever to said plunger to allow said plunger to move insaid non-parallel direction when and as said fluid flow controllingmeans is being moved.

14. A control valve as set forth in claim 2 in which manually operablemeans is mounted on said casing and engageable with said lever forapplying a force to said lever to pivot the same about said pivotingaxis and move said flow controlling means to an open position withrespeci to said passage, said plunger having its axis extending in anon-parallel direction with respect to the path of movement of saidfluid controlling means, and means pivotally connecting said lever tosaid plungerto allow said plunger to move in said non-parallel directionwhen and as said fluid .flow controlling means is being moved.

15. In a fluid control valve: a casing having a passage therethrough;means movable in said casing for controlling fluid flow through saidpassage; flexible, normally impermeable means forming a wall of saidcasing exposed to said fluid; a support mounted on said casing; a sleevemounted on the support and open at one end; an axially, movable plungersldable in said sleeve and extending through the open end; stop means atthe other end of the sleeve; means connecting the plunger and the fluidfiow controlling means for movement of said controlling means inaccordance with the movement of said plunger;

an electromagnet coil surrounding the sleeve for moving the plunger andsaid flow controlling means, said impermeable means comprising agenerali)7 planar diaphragm,

said connecting means comprising a lever attached to said diaphragm witha first portion of said lever being connected to said controlling meansand with a second portion of said lever being connected to said plunger,and

means pivoting said lever on said casing about a pivoting axis which isin close proximity to said diaphragm such that the spacing between thediaphragm and said pivoting axis is relatively small in comparison toeither the distance between said pivoting axis and said plunger or thedistance between said pivoting axis and said controlling means.

16. In a fluid control valve: a casing having a passage therethrough;flexible, normally impermeable means forming a wall of said casingexposed to said fluid; means movable in the casing and attached to thewall for controlling fiuid flow through said passage; a support mountedon said casing; a sleeve mounted on the support and open at one end; anaxially movable plunger slidable in said sleeve and extending throughthe open end; means connected to the plunger and said flow controllingmeans and joined to the outer surface of the flexible means for movingsaid flow-controlling means in accordance with the movement of saidplunger; stop means for the plunger at the other end of said sleeve; anelectromagnet coil surrounding the sleeve for causing the plunger tomove inwardly of the sleeve against the stop means and for moving Vsaidflow controlling means, said impermeable means comprising a generallyplanar diaphragm, said aforementioned means connected to the plungercomprising a lever attached to said diaphragm and pivoted on said casingabout a pivoting axis which is in close proximity to said diaphragm suchthat the distance between said diaphragm and said pivoting axis issubstantially less than either the distance between said diaphragm andsaid plunger or the distance between said diaphragm and said flowcontrolling means.

17. A control valve as set forth in claim 16 in which said pivoting axisextends generally parallel with the plane of the diaphragm and islocated adjacent to and within the proected area of said diaphragm.

References Cited in the le of this patent or the original patent UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 1,627,154 Mark July 26, 1927 1,992,902 McIntosh Feb. 26,1935 1,996,309 Simpson Apr. 2, 1935 2,114,446 Hildebrecht Apr. 19, 19382,121,321 Kromniller lune 21, 1938 2,132,204 Davis Oct. 4, 19382,169,696 Hotchkiss Aug. 15, 1939 2,194,276 Carlson Mar. 19, 19402,245,834 Sparrow June 17, 1941 2,333,261 Mantz Nov. 2, 1943 2,357,013McKinnis Aug. 29, 1944 2,406,246 Ogden Aug. 20, 1946

